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Prabhu commerce minister post-rejig; Sitharaman gets defence portfolio
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Tuesday, 05 September, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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Following the recent Cabinet reshuffle at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the third in as many years, Suresh Prabhu, current Rajya Sabha member and immediate past railway minister, has succeeded Nirmala Sitharaman as commerce and industries minister, while the latter has been transferred to the defence ministry.
Prabhu, who was in charge of several ministries in the erstwhile National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, tendered his resignation in the wake of the consecutive rail accidents that occurred last month, but was transferred to the commerce and industries ministry, a crucial portfolio.
With the general election slated to take place in 2019, he has under two years in office, and has his tasks cut out. Experts opine that the first of these is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations, involving 10 members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) and six partners.
India is among the latter, the others being Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. A permanent solution of the public stockholding of its Food Security, as discussed at the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Bali Summit, will be discussed at the WTO Ministerial, scheduled to take place in Argentina later this year.
Prabhu will also have to look into the new foreign trade policy for the period between 2020 and 2025. Chhotu Ram Chaudhary, electee from Nagaur, Rajasthan, and minister of state, consumer affairs, food and public distribution, will assume additional charge as minister of state, ministry of commerce and industries.
After Mandla (Madhya Pradesh) representative Faggan Singh Kulaste resigned as minister of state, health and family welfare, Buxar (Bihar) representative Ashwini Kumar Choubey, ex-state health minister and ex-member, Parliament Committee on Estimates and Standing Committee on Health, took charge of the ministry.
Meanwhile, the agriculture and farmers’ welfare ministry got two ministers of state - Gajendra Singh Shekhawat [who represents Jodhpur (Rajasthan)] and Krishna Raj [electee from Shahjahanpur (Uttar Pradesh)]. The latter was transferred from the women and child development ministry, where she was minister of state.
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